August 14th, 2014

Building a custom home may be seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be! Mark Johnson Custom Homes believes in “dedication to the details,” which includes walking through all of those details with you and creating the custom home of your dreams.

But if you’re at the beginning stages of considering a custom home, and would like to start your research online, the National Association of Home Builders is an excellent resource! The NAHB offers free articles and videos that cover every aspect of home building, including: financing, green building, the latest designs, and even tips to sell the home you are currently in. Check out their “Buying or Building Your Home” page to access all of these resources today!

And to request a free custom home consultation with Mark Johnson, contact us today!

January 27th, 2010

As both a proud member of the National Association of Home Builder and a Green home builder, Wilmington, NC luxury home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share with our readers a recent press release from the NAHB. Below is the complete press release on “Project ReEnergize”, a program that was addressed at the NAHB’s International Builders’ Show aimed to generate Green jobs and weatherize homes.

“January 21, 2010 – A weatherization program that created jobs while it made homes more energy-efficient worked in Minnesota – and can be one model for successful programs in other states.

A remodeler, a window manufacturer and the executive officer for the Builders Association of Minnesota explained how ‘Project ReEnergize’ worked during a press conference on Wednesday at the National Association of Home Builders’ International Builders’ Show.

As part of its economic stimulus package, the Obama Administration made money available to state agencies for the purpose of weatherizing homes and generating jobs.

When some Minnesota agencies could not disburse the funding quickly enough, the state turned to the home builders association, which quickly trained and certified contractors and insulation installers to make improvements to 1,400 homes, said Pam Perri Weaver, BAMN’s executive officer.

Consumers were eligible for rebates when they hired certified contractors to replace windows, but they received even more money if their home’s insulation was upgraded as well. That was an important incentive because it’s hard to convince home owners to make improvements that in the end, they can’t see, said Minnesota remodeler Shawn Nelson, a Project ReEnergize participant. ‘Air sealing is not a visual upgrade,’ he said.

About 90 percent of the windows in today’s homes are older, single-pane glass styles – much less efficient than modern double-pane, triple-pane and argon-filled products, noted Maureen McDonough of Andersen Windows. A new federal energy-efficiency tax credit and supplying windows for Project ReEnergize contractors were important factors in enabling the manufacturer to call back 600 employees who had been laid off, she added.

Participating home owners had no income limits, but the homes could be no larger than 3,000 square feet and had to be built before the year 2000, when more stringent state energy codes were mandated. The average size of each home was 1,800 square feet and the average age was about 45 years old, Weaver said.

The home builders association stands ready to funnel more money to consumers to make upgrades should additional federal funding become available. ‘We have a list of people who are waiting,’ because most consumers are unwilling to make the upgrades without the financial incentives, Nelson said.”

January 11th, 2010

Landfall new home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes is a proud member of the National Association of Home Builders and encourages our readers to sign up for their quarterly e-newsletter, HouseKeys. HouseKeys is designed specifically for consumers and gives their readers “consumer news from America’s home builders”. Below is a list of articles from their latest issue and sign up to receive it straight to your Inbox by clicking here!

January 8th, 2010

St. James Plantation, NC Green home builder Mark Johnson Custom Homes would like to share this extremely informative report from the National Association of Home Builders. Prepared by the Economics Group of the NAHB, the “Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components” examines the 25 components of a home listed below and gives the average life expectancy of each. To read the complete report, click here!